Welcome to Ghosts of History
As a student at Tulane University pursuing a Masters Degree in Southern History, I have a natural interest in historical documents and studies. This leads me to read many books on Southern History and Folklore. I am developing this site to share with others my opinions and critiques on books. It is my hope that you will enjoy the following reviews and that they will encourage you to read and enjoy these books as much as I have.
Matthew Mitchell
Feel free to email me with any comments or questions
Below are my reviews of recent books relating to Southern History:
The Lost German Slave Girl
By John Bailey
New York: Grove Press, 2003
Non-Fiction
“The Extraordinary True Story of Sally Miller and Her Fight for Freedom in Old New Orleans.”
The Lost German Slave Girl is a remarkable account of a German Immigrant (Sally Miller) and her legal battle for freedom in antebellum New Orleans. Her story is widely acclaimed in early Louisiana legal history, which featured a suspenseful courtroom battle between the astute legal minds of John Randolph Grymes and Wheelock Upton. The fate of Sally Miller, whether she be proclaimed a free white woman or thrown back into the depravity of slavery, twists and transforms throughout the 1840’s in the controversy over whose life into which she was born.
John Bailey unravels the complex story of Sally Miller, a fair-skinned slave woman in New Orleans. While sitting whimsically on the doorstep of a tenement building, Miller was approached by a member of the New Orleans German immigrant community, who thought her to be their long-lost relation. Miller wholeheartedly accepts her invitation into the German community, which embraces her as one of its own after 25 years of absence, even though she is still legally a black slave.
The better part of the study revolves around a dramatic legal battle to reveal the identity of Sally Miller. Miller, who cannot remember anything from her childhood and refuses to speak openly about her past (supposedly, she was stricken with yellow fever at an early age, thus erasing her memory) plays only a minor character to the legal wrangling between Upton and Grymes. While the two barristers dog it out in the courtroom about the childhood of Miller, she sits mute. It is discouraging to the reader that the fundamental theme of identity in The Lost German Slave Girl is not disclosed by the central character in the study, nor does she, herself, reveal a single piece of her past.
Otherwise, the Bailey study is clear and concise. While the case of Sally Miller was long and treacherous, Bailey elucidates the murky legalese and refines the sequences of events to flow in an easy, non-fiction format. He describes, in great detail, the harrowing journey of several Germanic families from their native country and across the Atlantic Ocean to the unknown land of America. Further, he paints a lucid picture of the early 18th century Southern judicial dynamic and its wavering stance on the true identity of a supposed slave.
Bailey’s study reads like a legal suspense novel. Throughout the book you cannot tell if Sally Miller is black or white, German or American, free or slave. Essentially, The Lost German Slave Girl raises the conflict between two white societies both fighting over a woman who has been subdued by slavery her entire life. It begets the question of how much white society depended on slaves and further, how the institution of slavery was a typical facet of Southern gentry.
***
Dark Bargain
By Lawrence Goldstone
New York Walker Company, 2005
Non-Fiction
“Slavery, Profits, and the Struggle for the Constitution”
The philosophical and pragmatic minds of the delegates who crafted the United States Constitution are explored in the latest Goldstone study, Dark Bargain. The thesis for his study, the underlying influence of slavery upon the writing of the American Constitution, becomes readily apparent in the first chapter and then is bolstered by in-depth facts regarding the mindset of the statesmen. That “to a significant and disquieting degree, America’s most sacred document was shaped by the most notorious institution in history.” (13)
To support his thesis, Goldstone details the Constitutional framework by the undercurrent of influences that were prevalent in colonial America. The foremost, slavery, drove a wedge into the writing of the Constitution, pitting the sophist Yankee contingent against the pragmatist Southern states. Dark Bargain deeply describes several select members of the constitutional delegation, two Southerners and two Northerners, whose sway over the other delegates dictated how the document was to be written.
Goldstone selected George Mason (probably the most powerful of the Virginia planter class) and John Rutledge (argued as the “father” of the Constitution) to characterize the mentality of the genteel Southern pragmatist. Conversely, he chose lawyers Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth to represent the North. While detailing the lives of these the delegates, Goldstone describes the forces that were shaping the country, such as the drive for more lands in the west, the struggle between states’ rights and federalism, and tax on foreign imports. While these themes were important to constructing the reader’s perspective on colonial America, they do not contain a strong argument on how slavery effected the writing of the constitution and support his thesis in minor ways.
It is not until the 10th chapter when Goldstone’s main theories on the influence of slavery in the writing of the Constitution are discussed, beginning with the issue of congressional representation. He argues persuasively that the 3/5th rule was important in keeping the Southern states a part of the nation and that the many delegates considered “blacks not equal to whites, but equally as valuable.” (119) Interestingly, while considered a “unique species of property,” slaves could be considered human enough to constitute representation in the South.
Although a fastidious study, the reader may question his reliance on white fears of a major slave insurrection as being a reason for a strong, centralized federal military. At the time of the Constitution’s signing, America was threatened by many more internal factors, like a citizens’ revolt similar to the Shay rebellion, rather than by a slave insurrection. As well, foreign invasion was a constant fear of the delegates, who aimed to turn their fragile states into an unbreakable union, complete with a centralized military.
While at times Goldstone stretches his theories to prove his points, Dark Bargain is a refreshing look at the Constitution as a sensible document, written to organize the United States into an efficient, sovereign federal system. Throughout the narrative, he successfully uses direct quotes from the primary source materials and evenly depicts the June arguments which led to the creation of the Constitution. At the end of the study, the reader questions how the delegates wrestled with the issue of moral restraint versus the economic necessity of slavery, which was an institution the fledgling United States could not survive without.
***
The
Pirates Laffite
By William C. Davis
Orlando: Harcourt, Inc., 2005
Non-Fiction
“The Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf”
There are few accurate accounts of pirates in the realm of historical writing that are comparable to the William C. Davis biography of Jean and Pierre Laffite in The Pirates Laffite. The unparalleled level of research Davis completed for his study is evident in its attention to detail and scrupulous description of their lives and legacies. It is an outstanding account of the lives of two brothers, which were often clouded in the fog of obscurity.
When the United States gained possession of the Louisiana territory from the French in 1803, the country also inherited a wealth of smugglers, privateers, and pirates. The most renowned and industrious of these Gulf brigands were the brothers Laffite, who established various “kingdoms” at Barataria and later Galveston to conduct complex smuggling and filibustering operations. Pardoned by President Monroe for heroics in the Battle of 1812, the Laffite brothers became spies for the Spanish and later returned to their lives as corsairs upon the waters of the Caribbean until their subsequent demise, apart from one another.
For a reader that is unfamiliar with the covert operations of the pirates of the early 19th century, The Pirates Laffite will be enlightening. Most fascinating are the passages about the Laffite’s corsair headquarters on Grande Terre Island, and the intricate system of bayou waterways through which contraband items were smuggled, under the noses of authority and into the markets of New Orleans.
While pirates have been popularly romanticized in the present day, Davis delivers an even-handed account of the Laffite brothers. The reader can tell that he doesn’t trust them (“Laffite entertained his guests with often amusing stories from his past, many of them no doubt invented for their benefit”), but also recognizes their fundamental influence as prominent members of early Louisiana society. (409) They were charismatic and persuading, deceiving anyone and holding no loyalties except to each other. Unlike many other contemporary biographies, Davis’ extremely well-researched account of their lives paints the reader a vivid picture of the place of Jean and Pierre Laffite in their timeframe in history.
Yet because Davis spends so much time on the details of their lives, he incorporates some material which stretches far outside the bounds of the Laffites'. Occasionally, it is difficult for the reader to stay on-track with the historical tangent he is riding. Further, because there is so much detail involved in the story, the reader may find it arduous to remember all of the different names of individuals that weave their way into the lives of the Laffites.
The Pirates Laffite is a biography of such depth, it has very few peers. For years, historians who have studied the Laffite brothers have speculated upon the validity of their legends. Davis offers concrete answers to many questions historians have asked about the Laffites in the past. His biography is a concise account of two brothers, whose lives were often overshadowed by their legend.
***
Blackbeard
By Angus Konstam
Hoboken New Jersey: John Wiley Sons, Inc., 2006
Non-Fiction
“America’s Most Notorious Pirate”
Angus Konstam has a long history of studying pirates and other seafarers in his prolific collection of books that he has written over the course of his career. His latest study, Blackbeard, is not only a tale of the “notorious” pirate, but also of the struggling colonial states and other pirates who haunted the Atlantic waters of early America. Pirates have been recently popularized in the current trends of pop-culture and clearly Konstam wants to cash-in on their hype.
Poorly written, erratic, and sometimes repetitive, Blackbeard is the biography of pirate Edward Teach (or Thatch or Drummond, Konstam is not sure). He attempts to trace the humble British beginnings of Blackbeard’s life, which are so obscure that no definitive proof of his upbringings can be uncovered. He outlines the career of Blackbeard through his first apprenticeship under Captain Benjamin Hornigold to his demise off Ocracoke Island and his legacy thereafter. Konstam’s approach is partially chronological, but often deviates from his point to such an extent that the reader becomes lost somewhere deep in an impertinent anecdote.
There is nothing deceptive about Konstam’s writing: He frequently tells the reader what he intends to do, using such phrases as “but more of that to come in the next chapter” and “but from what followed,” or “for what happened next.” (73-75). Most annoyingly, he uses many first-hand accounts in the form of paragraphs but does not explain their significance. Often times, these accounts had terms and spoke in a language which the layperson who knew little of seamanship would not understand.
Yet, Blackbeard may be a study that could be considered a good beginner's book for someone who wishes to learn more about pirates. Aside from the long first-hand accounts, it is an easy, uncomplicated read. Konstam loads his study with good information and has a very simple writing style that a wide audience could understand. The reader can tell that Konstam has an immense knowledge of pirates and piracy, but unfortunately does not put it fourth in an effective, concise study.
Konstam may have tried to ride the tide of the recent successes of pirate-related movies by producing a book upon the world’s most famous pirate. While he is certainly erudite upon the subject, his study was not well written, not adequately researched, and is not honest. Much akin to Blackbeard stealing booty from a mercantile ship, Konstam steals the reader’s time by producing a study that could be far more insightful and thought provoking.
***
A
Shopkeeper’s Millennium
By Paul E. Johnson
New York: Hill and Wang, 1978
Non-Fiction
“Society and Revivals in Rochester, New York, 1815-1837”
Paul E. Johnson details the rise of religious fervor in his critically acclaimed masterpiece, A Shopkeepers’s Millennium. Exquisitely written and groundbreaking in substance, Johnson’s study is a cornerstone in the study of the 2nd Great Awakening. It focuses on the spiritual unrest of Rochester, New York, which rose in the centerpiece of a growing capitalist market spurred to effect by the building of the Erie Canal.
A Shopkeepers’s Millennium begins with the birth of capitalism in Rochester, when it was still a rural town. Journeymen lived with their Masters and farmers dotted the outskirts of the community. But when traffic began on the newly established Erie Canal, Rochester transformed from a rural economy to an industrial Mecca and an urbanized boomtown. With the rise of capitalism, social relationships between employers and employees were broken, and the city reorganized into a splintered, sophisticated community mechanism.
Eventually, political movements pushed and strained the elites of Rochester causing social fragmentation and severe problems with alcohol among the masses. Upon the advent of the 2nd Great Awakening, evangelicals such as Charles Finney united the Rochester masses under the blanket of common purpose through Christianity. Once united, the infectious spirit of the divine spread throughout the entire “burnt over district” of northern New York, and influenced much of Jacksonian America.
Although exceptionally well researched, much of Johnson’s thesis rests in the social reasons for a religious revival. The reader, after reflecting upon the material in A Shopkeeper’s Millenium, may question whether the social factors present consequently led to religion spreading throughout the masses, or if the spread of religion was a function of other more spiritual forces. Did the rise in capitalism lead to religious fervor? If so, why? These questions remain unexplored, unanswered.
Yet Johnson’s study remains a must-read for undergraduate students of American History. It has a verbal fluidity that makes it easy to understand and opens up philosophical questions that can be the subject of insightful discussion. Wrought with soul-searching detail, Johnson’s study has earned itself the right to be placed among the few landmark studies of 19th century America.
***
The Great
Southern Babylon
By Alicia P. Long
Baton Rogue: Louisiana State University Press, 2004
Non-Fiction
"Sex, Race, and Respectability in New Orleans, 1865-1920"
In the six decades following the Civil War, the American South went through tremendous economic, political and social changes. On the forefront of these changes sat the city of New Orleans, which was then hailed as “The Great Southern Babylon” because of its reputation for decadence and licentiousness. Many complex currents characterized the make up of the Crescent City, such as racial tension, shifting views of female respectability, and the commercialization of sex. Historian Alicia P. Long explores these issues in New Orleans from 1865-1920 in her study, The Great Southern Babylon.
In her introduction to The Great Southern Babylon, the author identifies the features and themes of her study to prepare the reader for the sensitive topics which she is about to explore. Her sources consist mainly of court reports, marriage records, and letters which she scrupulously picks apart to display their intricate detail. By using the intimate letters between two racially crossed lovers in the 1st chapter, the author emphasizes their tight relationship. Going further, this leads to how the lovers made efforts to make their relationship work in an overtly racist society. It provides for a good, dramatic read.
Most of the author’s study focuses on the genesis of Storyville, the red-light neighborhood of New Orleans in the early 20th century. Based on the white elitist notion that blacks were immoral, all of the prostitutes in New Orleans were ordered to be confined into a single area. The city frankly recognized its high level of prostitutes (which was a common feature of most US cities) and attempted to confine them. The author also hypothesizes that the large number of prostitutes in New Orleans was due to the unavailability of economic opportunities for women. This concern, coupled with the severe behavioral constraints women faced in regards to their respectability, often left women with no other alternative than to sell their flesh.
With the Story Ordinances the city made a vague attempt to keep immorality from running rampant, to protect the respectability of the privileged white women, and to control venereal disease. The main focus of the 3rd chapter is, however, to reveal more on the double standard of male sexuality. While women and blacks were held to strict standards on their levels of respectability, men could often cross racial and social barriers in regards to their sexual desires. New Orleans was torn apart by outside pressure to become a conservative Southern city, but in essence was a Mecca for liberal masculine attitudes toward interracial sex and blatant sexual deviance.
The Great Southern Babylon dutifully investigates the
social factors that helped create New Orleans society. It uncovers the
role of women in a society were they had very little economic opportunity,
and were subject to harsh views on respectability. These views led to
a level of sexual commercialization that reached national proportions and
effectively fashioned its legacy.
***
All
on a Marti Gras Day
By Reid Mitchell
Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1995
Non-Fiction
"Episodes in the History of New Orleans Carnival"
To an outsider, New Orleans is a feast for the eyes. The cultural dissimilarity the Crescent City has from the rest of the United States is clearly evident in its inhabitants, architecture, food and customs. Yet, the keen observer, as his eyes pass over the detailed wrought iron 2nd floor balconies of a home in the garden district, may notice strings of beads hanging from telephone wires and tree branches. The beads are a testament to a week of the year when the city celebrates its deep European roots and transforms into a living, breathing characterization of past and present societal influences: Carnival. Reid Mitchell explores the evolution and symbolism of Carnival in his 1995 study, All in a Mardi Gras Day.
Since its first parade season in 1804, Carnival has been braided with themes of race and social conflict. During the past two centuries, Carnival has developed into a complex tradition of community and individual self-expression, rife with racial overtones of both a violent and harmonic nature. Indeed, Carnival was an “arena for display of racial concerns” within both the New Orleans community and the Nation. (28) Mitchell develops the many themes of race in his study by focusing in on the different parades throughout Carnival history and unveiling the tense and often violent social currents which characterized the tradition.
While the reader may find many of the parades noted in All on a Mardi Gras Day as fascinating and informative, three chapters succeed in revealing the racial polarization of the tradition. Rex (Ch. 4) is a concentration on the “King of the Carnival” parade, which is a predominantly white parade. Conversely, the Marti Gras Indians and the Zulu Pleasure and Social Club have parades which are celebrated by the black populous (Chs. 8 & 12, respectively). In a society radically bifurcated by racial themes, these three parades serve as a reflection of New Orleans' society throughout Carnival history.
There are a number of flaws in the Mitchell study which may aggravate readers. At different points in the text, he brings up various traditions which relate to Carnival that he does not explore. For example, he mentions the “courtly tradition” of festivals celebrated in England which have influenced Carnival, such at the tradition of the Twelfth Night kings. (26) To a reader who is unfamiliar with particular English traditions relating to the coming of the Epiphany, it may be a little unclear how this tradition parallels the New Orleans Carnival.
Mardi Gras and the Carnival season is a staple for tourists who come to New Orleans for a festival celebrating cultural heritage. As Mitchell concludes in his study, much of the festiveness of Carnival is directed toward attracting outsiders. But, those who view carnival as a symbol of community tradition will also note that it has a deeper meaning and reflects a city that has struggled over time to lessen the gap between its racial divergences.
***
Soul
by Soul
By Walter Johnson
Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1999
Non-Fiction
"Life Inside the Antebellum Slave Market"
Walter Johnson’s path breaking study of the slave markets of New Orleans in the antebellum era is a staple for graduate studies of slavery at many academic institutions. Exceptionally researched and well written, the Johnson study won several academic prizes for its merit and massive contribution to the study of American slavery. The harrowing tale of life inside a New Orleans slave pen is vivified in Soul by Soul which relates the unnatural commodification of humans in the antebellum period.
After Trans-Atlantic slave importation became illegal in the Territory of Orleans in 1806, New Orleans became the epicenter of the domestic slave trade in America throughout the antebellum period. Innumerable slaves were brought to the market and sold, or remained in the slave pens until their expiration. The economic necessity of labor for nearby sugar and cotton plantations kept slave traders busy buying and selling human chattel. The premise of Soul by Soul is arguably that slave trading underwrote the entire history of the antebellum South.
Not only does Johnson take an in-depth look at the life of the slave, he also examines the persona of a slave buyer. Paternalistic and bound by fiscal initiatives, the slave buyer vested no emotional interest in the slaves, but fantasized on how they would look in his world. While slaves exerted a relative level of agency in determining if they could be bought or sold, slave traders did everything they could (darkening grey hairs with grease, covering up an injury, etc.) to ensure the sale. It was an ongoing battle between the seller and the slave.
Many can criticize Soul by Soul because it leaves out a number of elements that lead the reader to have questions about the slave trade. For one, Johnson omits the discussion of the constant need to supply the sugar plantations and how speculators were often looking for large numbers of strong males. Further, he does not write of the intentions of small-scale versus large-scale buyers which would delve into the slave holder’s sense of intent.
Despite minor criticisms, Soul by Soul is a study that
is powerful and informative. Johnson’s theories of both commodification
and paternalism unearth new facets to the trader / slave relationship, which
modern historians will use to develop their own theories about slavery. The
harrowing tales of life in a slave pen will leave the reader with a new perspective
on the “symbolic truths” of slavery and the economic decadence
which enabled a human to sell another human as a product.
***
Slave
Country
By Adam Rothman
Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2005
Non-Fiction
“American Expansion and the Origins of the Deep South”
As the American republic expanded in the years following the Revolutionary War, slavery slowly faded in the Northern states but expanded dramatically in the South. Adam Rothman’s recent study, Slave Country, examines the causal factors behind why the South’s “perculiar institution” was able to flourish in the opening decades of the 19th century. Fastidiously researched and written in intricate detail, Slave Country is an excellent read for anyone interested in the origins of Deep South slavery.
Americans in the post colonial era believed that without slavery America would relapse into a vast wilderness. Hence, the areas which are now the states of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi needed slavery to transform the uncivilized land areas into a functioning agrarian society which could contribute to the burgeoning United States economy. Marked by economic, social and physical expansion, the Jeffersonian vision of an America characterized by agrarian ideals was driven into the minds of many proponents of slavery who first settled the Deep South in the hopes of turning a profit.
Slave Country also notes how the respective rise of the cotton and sugar economies paralleled in the rise of slavery and tension. Slave conspiracies and revolts inspired fear in the minds of Americans who sought to develop the Deep South. Rothman’s examination of the 1811 German Coast revolt, (the largest in American history, vivifies the event in elaborate detail, even though not much information on the event has ever existed. Rumors of acts of resistance such as slave revolts spread virulently throughout the South creating a relatively edgy white society.
Rothman only touches on the subject of slave maroon colonies in his study which should be considered an important piece to understanding the widespread white fear of slaves (and consequently blacks) in the Deep South. Although very little information upon maroonages exists, they were an integral part of the slave society which lived in self-created freedom. Their existence helped give antebellum slave societies hope that freedom could possibly exist. As well, Rothman speculates that early 19th century slaves had knowledge of the St. Dominique revolt, the Prosser rebellion, and the Gabriel conspiracy which may not have been the case. Quite often, slave-owners purposely limited the diffusion of information by forbidding their slaves to ever leave the plantation, curbing their knowledge of such events to a bare minimum.
But apart from minor criticisms, the Rothman’s book
is a large step forward in the study of antebellum slavery. The factual
connections that he creates between the global commercial markets and the
dire need for a productive agrarian society in the Deep South effectively
disclose why and how slavery was able to begin, grow and thrive. It
can be guaranteed that future graduate students will find Slave Country
on their syllabus reading lists, opening the door for greater scholarship
on several of the important subjects it focuses upon.
***
All pictures and book reviews are by Matt Mitchell
